How Country Feels
by hahabatmanhaha
Summary: Are any of us ACTUALLY good with summaries? Here's the gist; Country life, Alex and Piper and all the others. Try it. I own no one and I'm warning you all, it'll start slow. But it'll be well worth it. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

The day my life changed forever; August 16th.

Let's start with the basics; I'm Alex Vause, born and raised in a small town right outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After my dad skipped out before I was born, my mom moved here to get away from New York and the "bullshit of the city" as she called it. She grew up here, left after high school to pursue her career as an actress, met my sperm donor, "fell in love and got her heart broken", and came back here to raise me right. At least that's the story I've always been told. Mom's parents passed when I was young; too young to remember them but they sure left us a hell of a farm. Open land, barn, horses, and pond. Heaven on Earth, that's what it has always been to me.

I spent the majority of my time on the farm or on the water; fishing and bullshitting with my two best friends; Nicky and John. The three of us did practically everything together.

I hadn't gotten but one boot off from being out cleaning the horse stalls before I heard a yell from the kitchen; "Alex! I need you to run into town for some bread and milk."

"Do we really need it tonight, Mom?" I retorted, already putting my boot back on.

"Do you want breakfast in the morning?" Asked and emerging voice.

"Yes ma'am." I smiled and grabbed the truck keys. "I'll be back soon. Love ya."

"Thank you sweet pea. Love you back." Mom blew me a kiss as I hustled out the door.

The drive to town wasn't far and I certainly didn't mind the drive. To me, nothing beats a back road and some good country music.

In town, there isn't much. A gas station, a few stores, a diner, hardware store, and "Ma's Groceries".

"Ma's" is where I was headed. I pulled into a diagonal spot in front of the small store. Nodded to a few locals and carried on. I knew the store like the back of my hand, I could be in and out of there in less than five minutes with the two items I was sent to get and any other day, that's exactly how it would have been. But not this day, not August 16th.

"I can't fuck believe this shit hole doesn't have brown rice!" I heard a loud, foreign, extremely annoyed voice in the next isle; "No, I can't find a God Damn thing in this place!" … "I am calm, I just don't know why you sent me out here to Mayberry alone!"

I muffled a laugh. _Mayberry?_ I thought. _Oh, I've gotta see this character._ I rounded the isle and froze. Before me was someone beyond words, a being I had never seen in this small town. She was running a frantic hand through her long blond hair, tapping her foot and staring at the same spot on the shelf as she hung up her phone and let out a growling sigh. She turned towards me and the blue orbs that met my eyes burned into my soul.

I gave her a small smile; "I couldn't help but overhearing your conversation, brown rice is in isle 4."

She looked at me as if she was saying something along the lines of _"Well where the hell is that?"_

I smiled again; pointed up, "See this is isle 6. You need to go two isles..." I pointed right, "that way."

Her eyes followed my finger; "I wouldn't suppose peppers and ice cream are also in isle 4, are they?"

I laughed, "No, I don't think _any_ of those things are relatively close to one another."

She rolled her eyes, "great, I'm going to be here all night."

I looked at her, looked at my watch, then back to the Blonde, "well, Ma's closes in thirty minutes, all night might not be an option. I could help you out."

She looked around, as if she had options to weigh out and sighed. "Yeah, that would be a big help."

I smiled and nodded for her to follow me. She complied.

"So I'm assuming you're new in town?" I sparked a small conversation.

"What would give you that idea?"

"Oh I don't know; the lack of ability to find your way around a ten isle grocery store."

She let out a huff. "Yeah, I guess that would be a good indicator." Her phone buzzed. She answered, "Hey Mom, yeah, I figured it out. Got a little help from…" She looked at me, waiting.

"Alex," I said softly.

"From Alex…" She tapped her foot, "yeah, I know. I'll be back soon." She then hung up. "Sorry, Mother is needy."

I nodded and help up my bread and milk, "they all are."

She laughed.

I helped the newcomer with the odd list of things she was sent for and we were both rung out.

Once outside she turned to me, "hey, thanks again, Alex, I would probably still be standing there looking around aimlessly if it weren't for you."

"It was my pleasure, Kid."

She looked at me, up and down, "kid? Unless you're a vampire, I can't image you're any older than me."

"Well first of all, it's kinda my thing, I call people "kid" a lot and secondly, I never got your name." I shrugged.

"Oh my gosh, how rude of me, I'm Piper. Piper Chapman." She extended a hand.

"Alex, as you already know, Alex Vause." I shook her hand.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Alex Vause." She gave the biggest grin I'd ever seen. "I better get going. Mother doesn't like to wait on her ice cream." She laughed as she held up one of her bags.

"Yeah, no one wants to wait on ice cream." I smiled. "See ya around Kid."

She shook her head and smiled as she turned the corner to the small parking lot as I headed the opposite direction.

I got into my truck and breathed out. _I had to know her, I had to be a part of this Piper Chapman's life._

And little did I know, I would be, way more than I ever expected.


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all, I want to apologize for the delay in an update. Unfortunately, this is how this story is going to run. Slow. I have a very busy life and mainly sit down when I get the time to write a bit to unwind. Hopefully, if you like the ideas enough you'll continue to read, despite the long gaps in posts.**

"Shut the hell up, Vause, the fish can hear you!" I laughed as a rock was thrown at me from the voice. I dodged it causing it to plop into the lake.

"I'm pretty sure the only thing scaring the fish away is the rocks you keep throwing at me, Nic." I cast my line out for the umpteenth time.

My best friend rolled her eyes and looked back at the water, lighting a smoke she swiftly jerked her rod. "God dammit! They're stealing my bait and I'm trying to me a good friend and listen to you talk about this grocery store bitch and how gorgeous she is and blah blah blah. There's hot ass college girls right down the road at Chapel Hill, it's almost fall, new wave of Freshman wearing that Carolina blue. I can't fuckin' wait."

"Yeah yeah, I know, all I'm saying there was something about her, something that got to me." My line pulled, I jerked it. "Oh, he's on." I reeled hard. "He's a big'n." I smiled as the fish surfaced.

Nicky threw her rod, "I give the hell up." She grabbed the bucket to fill it with water for the _only_ catch of the afternoon.

I laughed, "hey, I guess this one liked me talking about Piper." I winked at Nicky and unhooked the large bass and threw him into the bucket as she placed it near me. "Thanks."

I looked at my watch, "we should head back to the house, Mom's gonna ask us muck the stalls and I don't feel like doing it after dark again."

Nicky was already cleaning up her tackle, "please inform me again why I always end up being the one to clean up the horse shit with you. Why don't you ever ask John to help?"

"Because he's on vacation with his family; you know this Nicky, don't act like he's not your friend too, plus he helped me put up the new riding arena last month when you were down in Gainesville hooking up with that chick you met online."

"Hey, she was well worth that drive. But the second he's home, I'm drinking tea with your mom while you two clean all the sit for the next three months."

I smacked her arm as we headed back to the parking lot. Our walk was filled with small talk and back and forth jabs, because that's just the kind of friends we were.

Once we reached the lot, Nicky halted; "holy fucking mother of God." She pointed at a turned figure sitting at the dock on a larger than average boat for the small lake. "See, the college girls are already comin' around."

I moved my glasses from the top of my head and squinted a bit as the figure turned and my jaw dropped. "Dude, Nic, that's her!"

"Fuck you, Vause, I saw her first."

"No, I mean that's Piper."

"Who?" She was still staring at the blonde.

"Piper! The girl I was telling you about." I rolled my eyes, "grocery store bitch." Apparently, I said Piper too loud because the head turned towards us.

"Shit, she heard you." Nicky smirked, "and you didn't tell me she was _THAT_ hot."

Piper squinted from the distance and shielded her eyes with her hand from the setting sun. She must have noticed it was a familiar face and waved.

I smiled and waved back.

She turned back to the older man who was messing with the motor, said something, he waved her off, and she jumped off the boat.

"Dude, she's coming over here," I told Nicky.

"I see that," Nicky laughed and pulled me to walk towards her.

As she approached us she waved, "Hey Alex!" she smiled.

"Hi there," I smiled, "what are you up to?"

"Well, my dad decided since we moved so close to a body of water, it would be ideal to buy a boat, he doesn't know a thing about it. My brother took the car back to the house to get the manual he left there."

"What's the issue with it?" I furrowed my brow.

"Um, something about not knowing how to turn on the bulge pump?" She shrugged, unknowingly.

Nicky laughed beside me and Piper and I turned towards her. She looked at us, "what?"

I rolled my eyes, "this is Nicky, my pain of a best friend. But I think you mean the bilge pump. There should be a switch, that's pretty simple. I could, um, show him."

Her eyes lit up, "oh my gosh, yes, please." She practically pulled my arm from its socket as she drug me towards the dock.

"Yeah, I'll just load the shit into the truck!" Nicky hollered after us.

"Thanks, Nic, this won't take long!"

On the dock, I followed Piper closely as we approached the boat. "Dad, I have a friend that might be able to help you."

The older man looked up, "that would be super," he said stratching his head, "I can't seem to find the pump to drain the water out."

I smiled and hopped on the boat, "it's the bilge, there's a switch," I moved to the driver's spot and looked to the left under a few cup holders, "just here," I flipped the switch and the bilge started up. I smiled and stood.

Just then a kid with longer sandy hair ran down the dock, "Dad, I got the manual!" He halted when he saw me and heard the pump in action, "which I'm guessing you don't need any more…" his voice trailed off.

"Thanks, Cal, but it seems Piper's friend…" He waited, I hadn't introduced myself.

"Alex." Piper and I said in unison, looked at one another, and smiled.

"I'm Alex Vause, sir." I extended my hand to him.

"Nice to meet you Alex, such manners down here, I'm Bill Chapman," He shook my hand and smiled. "This is my son, Cal and you seem to already know Piper." He turned to his daughter, "I didn't know you had made a friend already, and you swore you weren't going to speak to anyone!" He laughed.

Piper rolled her eyes, "Alex helped me around the store the other night."

"Ah, this is the savior that spared us all from your mother's wrath when she doesn't get her ice cream?" He laughed again, "believe me, you do not want to see my wife when you don't get _everything_ on her grocery list," he stated to me.

I laughed and heard my truck horn honk, rather obnoxiously. I turned and held up a finger, "Well, I have to get back home, I have stalls to clean, and a very impatient friend over in the truck waiting on me. It was very nice to meet you, Sir. And you as well Cal." I shook the younger boy's hand as I got out of the boat.

"Thank you again for helping an old man out, Alex. If you every want to come out on the water with us, just let Piper know, there's plenty of room on this thing for you _and_ your friend." He smiled.

"Thank you for the invitation sir, it's a beautiful boat." I smiled and turned.

"I'll walk you to your car," came a now familiar voice from behind me.

I laughed and pointed to the truck, "its right over there Piper, I can walk."

"No no, I want to, plus it'll keep me from helping get the boat hooked to the trailer."

I laughed and rolled my eyes, "Okay."

As we walked she asked, "so you have horses?"

I looked at her, "yeah, four actually."

"Wow, do you like ride them?"

I laughed, "Like yeah!" I mocked her use of 'like'.

She rolled her eyes, "I've never ridden a horse."

I stopped, "you're kidding me!"

She shook her head. "Nope, never, I petted one once at the fair. But that's it."

"Well, I'll let you ride one of mine if you'd like to sometime. I can show you the basics."

She smiled, that million dollar smile, "I would absolutely love that. Can I give you my cell phone number?"

As we reached my truck, I grabbed my phone from the driver's seat, "yeah, definitely, what is it?"

She recited her number to me and added, "hey, thanks again, we probably would have been stuck out here another three house if you hadn't hit that switch."

"It was my pleasure," I said as I finished saving her number and lobbing it back onto the seat, "I got a free boat outing out of it anyways." I smiled.

"That you did, but seriously, thank you." She smiled and started to walk away, "Hey Alex!" She called as I started to get into the truck. I turned ad she yelled, "Don't forget to text me!"

I nodded and smiled, "I won't. I swear."

"Good," she waved and turned to jog back to her family.

As I started the car, I felt a crossed arm frizzy haired girl's eyes staring into my soul. Without looking over, "what?!", I asked.

"Dude, you're fucked." She laughed.

I watched the blonde in my rearview as I pulled away, "yeah, I really am." _But for the first time,ever, I think I'm okay with it._ I mentally added.


	3. Chapter 3

I had been staring at my phone for over an hour, her name, the recently added number; _it's harmless she GAVE you her number, text the girl._ I thought to myself. I typed a short text; " _Hey Piper, its Alex."_ I looked at it a minute more. "Oh for fuck's sake send it!" I voiced out loud to myself and hit send. I let out a sigh, tossed the phone beside me and stared at the stars from the front porch.

This had never been an issued for me; texting a girl had always been so natural and so easy.

As I took a swig of my beer, I head the vibration of my phone. _"Hey back. Thanks again for helping my dad out today. :)you were the entire rave at dinner."_

I let out a small laugh and typed back, " _again, it was my pleasure, easy fix."_

" _Well, Dad insists he take you out on it."_

" _Don't worry, a boat like that, I'll definitely be taking advantage of his hospitality."_ As I hit send, my phone started to ring. The screen illuminated to a close up of Nicky flipping the bird. I rolled my eyes. "What do you want this late asshole?"

"Is that any way to answer your best friend?" Laughed the voice on the other end, "Anywho, there's a field party tomorrow night. Old Mr. Nixon just plowed his field and set the broncos out in the back pasture. He told mom tonight these are the best buckin' bulls he's had in years."

I laughed, "Freshly plowed fields, young broncs, AND beer. I'm in. Hey, what if I invited Piper?"

"You're gonna ask Blondie to come to the _field party_?!"

"Yeah, why not? She seems to want to meet people around and you know everyone in town our age will be there."

"Sure thing Vause. But I'm not babysitting her!"

I laughed, "you won't have to."

"Whatever you say, I'll be at your place at seven tomorrow."

"See ya then Nic."

"Later Vause."

After hanging up, I looked back to my messages. _"I hope you do, I would feel safer with someone that actually knows what they're doing on the water."_

" _Well, I know that lake like the back of my hand. On another note, Nicky just called me. There's a party tomorrow night. Most of the locals our age are going to be there, you wanna tag along?"_

Within seconds there was a reply, _"Anything is better than being stuck shopping for mother again tomorrow. Sure!"_

" _Sweet! Nic is meeting me here at 7:00, if you want we can come get you, cause getting to the place is pretty hard to explain."_

" _Yeah, that'll work. What time should I be ready?"_

" _Well, where do you live?"_

" _My address is 879 Whitemore Cr."_

" _Damn, that's the mansion lane. That's about twenty minutes from my place. We will be there by 7:30, does that work?"_

" _Haha, sure. I'll be ready."_

" _Alright, see you tomorrow Piper."_

" _Night, Alex. :)"_ And my stupid shit-eating smile was back.

The next day went slower than the longest day of summer. To say I was excited was an understatement. _It's just a damn party, there's going to be a ton of people there_ , I thought. But I was actually going to get to spend time with this gorgeous girl. I occupied my day doing yard work, cleaning stalls, and whatever else I could to pass the time. Six o'clock rolled around and I finally decided to get ready. Shower, dressed (the usual; jeans a flannel and boots) and an old ball cap. I picked up my phone to check the time. 6:45, and a text, from Piper, _"this may be a dumb question, but what should I wear to this party?"_

I laughed, realizing I had left out the FIELD part of the party invitation. _"Something comfortable and casual."_ I heard Nicky's car rolling down the drive.

I looked myself over and texted Piper, " _Nicky is here, we will head to get you shortly. See ya soon."_

I ran down the stairs to meet Nicky at the door.

"Damn Vause, you're runnin like you're about to put out a fire!"

My mom emerged from the kitchen; "Hello Nicole."

"Hey Miss Vause." Nicky smiled at my mom.

"Where are you girls off to tonight?" She asked drying her hands.

"Ol' Nixon's Field." Nicky smiled. "Fresh broncs and freshly tilled field."

My mom rolled her eyes, "Alex, what have I told you about getting on those wild horses?"

I sighed, "mom, it's fine. I know the limits I can push." I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'm always careful."

Mom furrowed her brow, "I'm your mother, and I'm supposed to worry." She wrapped me in a hug. "Come home safe."

"Yes ma'am." I smiled and closed the door behind Nicky and myself.

The drive to Piper's was spent listening to the local country station and banter back and forth over who would ride longer.

"So did you even tell Blondie what she was getting into?" Nicky asked as we pulled up the long driveway to the oversized mansion complete with a large gate and brick columns at the entrance.

"I may have left out the field part of field party." I told her.

Nicky rolled her eyes, "this is going to be interesting." She said as we saw the blonde run down her front steps in a yellow sundress and basic flip flops.

And that's the third. I promise I will post another chapter as soon as possible! Thanks to all for the continued support. And again, I am sorry for the long gaps between chapters!


	4. Chapter 4

"Vause, you _gotta_ tell her to change her shoes!" Nicky said as she punched my shoulder.

I only smirked as the blonde neared the truck. I stepped out to greet her. "Hey Piper, you look awesome."

She looked at her attire, "Thanks, is it too much?" She looked back to me, questioning.

I shrugged, "normally, no, it would be great, but you might want to change your shoes. It's more of an _outdoor_ party."

She looked at me, then to Nicky; who was laughing, then back to me. "Oh, well give me a second, I'll be right back." She sauntered back up her steps, into the giant house.

I turned back to Nicky, "Are you happy?"

Nicky, who was still laughing smirked, "poor girl won't stand a chance."

I rolled my eyes and leaned against the truck, waiting on Piper to come back out. After a few minutes, she did; this time in a light pair of slightly ripped jeans, a fitted flannel shirt and what I assumed was some designer pair of "cowgirl" boots. "Now you'll fit in just fine." I smiled as I opened the truck door for her to slide between Nicky and I.

As we left her long driveway, Nicky was the first to speak; "mighty fine homestead you got here, Blondie."

Piper looked back at her house, "yeah, I guess."

"You _GUESS_? You probably have to use the telephone just to call the other end of the place."

Piper laughed and shrugged. I looked at her and read that it was time to change the subject; "So how do you like it here so far, Piper?"

She turned her attention to me as I kept a steady eye on the road, "It's not too bad, much different than the North. Everyone is so polite and pleasant. Plus, it's so quite here." She smiled.

I nodded, "so I've heard. Where are you from?"

"New York. Born and raised."

Nicky interjected; "New York? Like the city? What brought y'all here?"

I rolled my eyes and Piper laughed, "My father is the new head of the School of Medicine at UNC."

"Well damn, that explains the house and that big ass boat!" Nicky laughed.

I shook my head as we turned down the dirt road to our destination.

Piper looked around, "you guys aren't going to murder me in the middle of nowhere are you?"

I laughed as we pulled up to a field full of truck and a fire in the distance; "not tonight Pipes. Welcome to your first field party." I smiled as I put the truck in park.

She hesitated for a moment as Nicky opened the door and jumped out. "Wait, a what?"

"A field party, Blondie. You know a party in a field. With a fire and beer and broncos. You aren't familiar with them?" Nicky laughed as she grabbed the case of beer from the bed of the truck.

"No, I've never been to a f-f-field party before." She stuttered.

I smiled, "don't worry. It's more fun than it looks from here." I extended a hand to help her out of the truck.

She took my hand and jumped out. "I trust you, Alex."

Those words, they hit something in me. Something hard. And from that moment I swore not to disappoint her trust in me.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun, Blondie!" Nicky shook me from my thoughts as she nudged me. "Let's fuckin' go!"

I looked from Nicky walking away to Piper who was still holding my hand; "shall we?" I smiled.

She looked from me to Nicky then back to me. "Yeah, I guess so. But don't leave me." She said as she gripped my hand as we started to follow Nicky.

"I wouldn't dream of it." I said as I squeezed her hand and pulled her along to follow Nicky.

We reached the group of people standing around the large fire. Nicky had already released herself into a group of college girls. I grabbed two beers from the case sitting on the ground, one for myself and one for Piper. "Thank you." She said as she took the beer from me.

"Not a problem." I smiled. "So, your dads a professor at UNC?" I asked, settling into a simple conversation.

She nodded. " He is, but he's more like the Dean of the Medical Professors."

"I see. Must be a big deal."

"He likes to think so." She smiled.

I laughed, "So, what about you? What is there to know about Piper Chapman?"

She took a sip of her beer and looked at the fire; "Well, I'm pretty basic. Born and raised in New York, as you know, moved to North Caroline because of my father's new job. I'll be starting school in the Fall at UNC as well."

"I would expect nothing less." I smiled, "what are you going for?"

"Art, despite my parent's wishes of me going into med school."

"Wow, that's pretty cool if you ask me."

"Really?!" Her eyes lit up. "I want to be an art teacher to be honest."

"That's really awesome Piper." I smiled.

"So, what about you?"

I raised an eyebrow to her, "me? There's not much to tell. I live at home; I help my mom keep up with the farm. Nothing too exciting here."

She nodded, listening to me. "Do you plan on going to college?"

Before I could answer, Nicky ran over with a short brunette in toe, "Alex! I told my new friend Lorna here that you could ride that wild horse over there for 30 second, and she wants to see it!"

I rolled my eyes and looked towards the pasture at the dark chestnut mustang Nicky was referring to. "Nicky, I think _you_ should ride the horse."

"No no no, Alex you're the Pro!" Nicky smirked and threw her arm loosely around her new friend.

I sighed. "I'm not a _Pro_ Nic." But I stood up.

"Oh come on Vause. I'll bet you." She gave me a shit eating grin. She knew I couldn't hold back from a bet.

"And what's the wager Nichols?" I asked.

She smiled, and I immediately regretted asking the question. " The wager? Well Vause, you ride that horse for 30 seconds and I'll give you a hundred bucks. Cash."

"And if I don't?"

"If you don't, you have to get naked in the pond and noodle a cat."

I laughed so loud I'm sure everyone around the fire heard, "you want me to catch a catfish with my bare hands _naked_?!"

"Are you afraid you're gonna lose?" She smirked, even more.

I sighed and shook her hand. "Fine. You're on." I stood and began walking towards the pasture.

Piper stood from behind me; "wait, you're going to ride a wild horse? Bareback?!"

I looked back at her. "Don't worry Kid. I've done this before."

Nick was laughing. "You're in for a treat Blondie." She said as I jumped the fence with a group of spectators forming around.

I eased close to the horse, speaking softly to him, grabbing his attention, he was curious enough to venture closer to me. Once close enough, I grabbed is mane and yelled to Nicky; "start timing!"As I jumped on the bronco's bare back. This was the rush I lived for.

 _ **Sorry for the abrupt ending to this one. Hope you all enjoyed it. And don't worry, more will come in time. Thanks to the continuing readers. And any new ones, I hope you enjoy. And feel free to review. Till next time!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone, sorry about the (longer than usual) delay. I'm HOPING to push out a few chapters in the near future. I thank you for the continued views and reads. As always, reviews and input are loved. Till next time, Happy Holidays and enjoy!**

On the back of a horse like a bronco, all you think about is the task. Stay on that animal as long as you can. The second you lose that thought, it's over. It's the thrill of a lifetime. An adrenaline rush beyond belief. Better than any drug. At least to me it was.

I was on that horse for what seemed like eternity, but there was no way in hell I was giving up. I had too much pride for that. Plus I wasn't up for jumping in a catfish infested pond naked. So I did what I could; and I stayed on till I heard Nicky's obnoxious voice yell, "Time!" And everyone that was watching cheered like I had just won an Olympic medal.

Then the dismount. That was sometimes harder than actually holding on. On the rodeo circuit, a rider would have a spotter to help with the dismount. A guy to ride along side of the bronco for you to grab onto and slide down safely. Well, that clearly wasn't the case in the field. I mentally counted to three and tucked myself as a rolled off the bronco. I hit the ground. Damn, I hit the ground hard. I rolled. I heard silence as I finally pushed myself off the ground. Nicky ran towards me. "Vause! You okay?"

I smiled. I tasted blood. _Fuck._ "Yeah. I'm good."

"Shit you're bleeding," She noted as she got to my side.

I wiped my mouth and ran my tongue over my teeth. All were there, good. "It's just my lip. Musta bit when I hit."

"Well, good news, you don't have to show all your naked glory to Blondie just yet." Nicky patted me on the back as we walked back to the group who had meandered back to the fire and booze.

"Yeah, thanks for that." I rolled my eyes and ducked under the fence to be met with the wide eyed blond. I smiled my toothy, bloody, smile. "Enjoy?"

She shook her head, "you are crazy _and_ you're bleeding." She touched my lip. Electricity raged through me. I shook it off.

I laughed, "So I've been told and I'm fine. I just busted my lip. Still have all my pearly whites. See?" I cheesed my hardest.

"Try crimson smile." She smirked. "That was pretty impressive though. Although I was kind of looking forward to seeing you do that noodle thing."

I raised an eyebrow, "are you implying you wanted to see me naked Miss Chapman?"

She coughed out the beer she was drinking, "no no-I-um-I forgot that part. Just seems catching a catfish bare handed would be pretty interesting to see."

I laughed and took a long swig of beer and leaned into her ear, "if you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask." Yes, I tested it and I got just the reaction I was hoping for, the reddest blush I'd ever seen on another human being. I smirked, winked at her, and headed towards the fire. She shook her it off and followed suit.

"Alex, that was epic." Yelled Jimmy.

I waved over to Jimmy as I grabbed another beer, "thanks man."

A few other pats on the back and congratulations later, everyone was back to drinking and minding their own business.

"So, who's ready for the keg stand?" yelled one of the guys, Mitch. He looked my way and I shook my head vigorously and held up my keys. He nodded knowingly, "well what about the new girl? She looks like she could use a little loosening up." He winked at Piper and I instantly felt jealousy overtake me. That was a new feeling. I had never felt any amount of jealousy before. Not for anyone.

Piper looked at me and then to Mitch, "me?"

"Yeah, you, the new girl in town!" Mitch smiled a shit eating smile.

Piper looked at me again, "hey, I can't tell you what to do." I shrugged and she grabbed my hand pulling me towards the keg. "I'm going to need your help." She smiled at me and again, I melted.

I let out a short laugh, "Okay, Mitch and I are going to pick you up by your legs, you're going to hold the keg like you would if you were doing a handsta-"

She cut me off, "I know how to do a keg stand Alex. I mean, I need you to help me by holding me up." I nodded.

Mitch smiled, "alright, we got new girl takin the first turn, what's your name again, pretty lady?"

I huffed, "that's Piper, Mitch." I gave him a look, one simple look, and he knew. He put his hands up and continued, "okay, Piper, let's get you on!"

I looked at the blonde again, "you don't have to do this, you know."

She smiled and tied her hair up. "I know, but I gotta start fitting in with _ya'll_ sooner or later, don't I?" She winked at me and she set herself to be hoisted onto the keg.

"One…two…three, go!" Mitch hollered and everyone else cheered.

Once Piper had gotten her share of beer, we turned her back to right side up. She had the biggest smile on her face. "I haven't done that since my graduation party!" She laughed and fell into me.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, helping her regain balance. She had one hand on my chest and the other around my waste, "Yeah, I'm great. Let me do it again!" She grabbed Mitch and I to help her back onto the keg and I caught Nicky looking at us from across the fire. I shrugged and tipped Piper upside down, once again.

Just when I thought the night was winding down, I realized it was just starting and it was going to be one hell of a night.


	6. Chapter 6

**A sooner than planned update for the New Year? Enjoy. Review. You know, have at it.**

"Nicky, watch her head!" I yelled quietly at my best friend as we used all our might to get a passed out blonde out of the truck.

"Where the hell is this skinny ass girl storing all this weight?" Nicky asked as she struggled to move the dead weight of Piper.

"Okay, we gotta get her in the house," I looked at the steps up my front porch then thought of the stairs up to the bedrooms in the house. _Dammit, this is gonna be a hell of a time if she's not awake._ I thought. So I attempted once more, "hey, Piper, hey, wake up." I smacked her face softly. Nothing. I groaned. Just as I was about to pick the dead weight back up I was half soaked by a bucket of water and a loud gasp. I gave Nicky a 'what the hell' look.

She shrugged, "I sure as hell wasn't about to carry her anymore." She laughed, drunkenly and stumbled into the house, leaving just Piper and myself outside.

"What the hell?! Where am I?" shot a very confused blonde.

"Hey, you um, did a few too many keg stands.." my voice trailed off, "and you passed out once we got into the car, and well you wouldn't wake up to let us know if you wanted to go home or… ya know, not…"

She seemed to be a bit more sober, and soaked. She looked around, "this is your place?" She asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, you're welcome to stay here, Nicky and I were gonna just put you in my bed, I was gonna take the couch downstairs, mainly cause Nicky already called the guest room which is pretty much _her_ room anyways…" I babbled.

Piper rubbed her eyes, "no no I'll sleep on the couch. I don't want to take your bed."

I shook my head, "trust me, it's no biggie. Plus, my mom's cool and all but seeing a stranger on her couch when she wakes up might be a bit much."

She nodded, "I guess that would be awkward to explain and a very interesting way to meet your mother." She started to stand and wobbled. She subconsciously grabbed my arm for support.

"Whoa killer," I steadied her, "let's get you to bed." I pulled her to the house.

Once I had escorted her to my room, she wasted no time plopping onto my bed, quickly reminded of her cold wet clothes. "Fuck." She hissed.

I laughed quietly, "let me get some shorts and a t-shirt for you."

She nodded and stood, walking to my bookshelf picking up a photograph of me holding a large mouth bass with Nicky giving the middle finger behind me. "How the hell do you put your hand in a fish's mouth like that, won't it bite?" She asked.

As I found shorts and a shirt for her I laughed, "It's just a fish Piper. Bass have very very small teeth."

She cringed and put the picture back, her eyes finding another photo of me sitting on the porch with a guitar on my lap. "You play guitar?"

I shrugged and tossed her the dry clothes, "I dabble."

"You should play something for me sometime," she smiled, "and thank you."

"I'm not nearly good enough to play for anyone, I can play the beginning of Die A Happy Man by Thomas Rhett, but that's about the extent of me capabilities. I'll leave you to change. If you need the bathroom, it's the second door to your left outside my room."

"Thomas Rhett?" She questioned, pulling her shirt over her head, despite my still being present and I couldn't help but notice her golden, toned stomach.

I swallowed, and then remembered the question she had just asked, "You don't know who Thomas Rhett is?" I was baffled. Then I remembered her upbringing, "country." I simply stated.

She nodded, "I assumed, I've never been much of a fan, but I'm realizing it's the kind of music I'm going to have to get used to here."

"You're damn right." I smiled and started to exit the room.

"Alex…" I heard and I turned and let out a _'hm'_ to Piper finishing up changing her bottoms. "You don't have to sleep on the couch; your bed seems plenty big enough for both of us."

I looked at her and then to my bed, "It's really no biggie."

She yawned and looked at me, "what if I said I wanted you to stay up here with me?" She waged her eyebrows and I cleared my throat.

"Well, I mean, it is big enough for two people." _But what kind of game are you playing here, Chapman?_ I mentally added. "I guess." And with that I kicked my boots into the corner and she pulled my sheets back.

"Good, because I'm scared of the dark," she confessed as I slid in beside her. I laughed and shook my head.

"Goodnight Piper." I said as I got settled.

"Night Al," she nicknamed me, "thanks for tonight." She kissed my cheek leaving a feeling of fire behind and turned over as I turned off the light.

 **And here's another short one. I swear, writing these, they feel so much longer than they are when posted! Hopefully a ton of short chapters aren't too much of a disappointment. Just think of the breaks between them as really really long commercial breaks. Till next time.**


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